Posts
Josh is currently on tour with a national musical touring show company. To keep his sanity amidst the natives, he is emailing travelogues out from the road. He has graciously agreed to let me post them here for your enjoyment.
Names of some identifiable theaters, towns and country music stars have been edited to protect Josh from identifying Google searchs. CAPITALIZED NOUNS indicate my only edits to his posts.
Fans, who wish to track Josh's ongoing travels can read his previous entries here.
On The Road With Josh #7:
Uh Oh Urbana and The End of the Midwest
Holl-errrrr!
Let's unsnap a clutch of conversation, and get this e-mail started, huh!?
Status Update: In Madison until Tuesday morning. Currently staying at a Hilton (j'adore.) And the best news – say it with me, annunciate it beautifully, let it tickle your tongue and resonate off your soft palate – I have 39 days of tour left!
Well, we have just been a'drivin' ev'rwhere. Let's do a re-cap of the last part of the Midwest, thus far my favorite part of the tour…though you would never know it from the running bitchy commentary:
Detroit Lakes, MN: Crew: One technical guy (so…a TG, if you will) wearing a mad bomber winter hat with ear flaps, lines with what I can only imagine was his latest kill; the rest of the crew included Nascar Boy (who had a penchant for rap music that can best be described as the kind which promotes shoving one's stuff in another's junk), the wife of the TG (who said that she would gladly take all the costume back to her home to launder/press/steam to which I responded by saying "no, no and nay, nay"), and a gaggle of three other friendly redneck Minnesotans. Venue: It was fine, although the sign on the marquee read "Ted dy Roose velt & the Treasure of Ur sa Ma jar." (ED NOTE: TITLE BROKEN UP TO PREVENT GOOGLING.) Majar…like it's a classic American tale with a Bollywood flare. The hotel was lovely and very comfortable.
Brookfield, WI: Crew: Only two people showed up for the 5am load-in which was followed by two shows, and a 450 mile drive to East Lansing. At the very least, our four-man/one-woman crew knows the show enough that we were able to get everything done with the venue crew's help by the time the actors arrived at 8:45am. Hotel: The hotel was great. Marriot Townplace Suites is an excellent and affordable place to stay when traveling on extended business trips. All the comforts of a studio apartment, with cookies and coffee always in the main building are the MTPS's.
East Lansing, MI: I actually met someone from the Michigan Militia at a Wal-Mart checkout lane, and cowered in awe of the stupidity and misplaced patriotism I beheld (and I think I was followed back to the hotel.) There was this woman who, after walking her dog, went into the main building at 8pm, right before myself and the TD for our show, and we watched her stuff 8 chocolate chip cookies into her pocket, and then proceeded to take one of two left on the plate to eat on her way back to her den of slack and loneliness. For real! The nerve! I mean, those were the last cookies of the day, and they had been fresh, THEY HAD BEEN FRESH, PEOPLE!... The venue was fine, with a student crew, although the lights took forever to focus because they had been hung upside down…um…oops… Shows went well, all were happy, tour moves on.
Cedar Falls, IA: We stayed at the Black hawk Historic Hotel, a bed and breakfast set on the corner of the quaintest of quaint main streets. Sadly, the only thing to do on the street at night is eat at one of the three nice restaurants, or go to any and all of the bars. There is also a store called "Fancy Fashions" which caters to the zebra-print and red lace community….ew. The cool thing about the hotel, however, was that the halls were filled with desks and chests that have all sorts of things in them…I know because I snooped. Filled with old-world charm and a sushi bar next door, it was the best time off before the craziness of April. The new corset and skirt came, FINALLY . I spent two days off working on them and they look just lovely. They came half-heartily constructed…quelle surprise… The venue was fine, huge, and the shows went well.
Champaign-Urbana, IL: Okay, and no good deed goes unpunished. Well, we had a fairly successful load-in, and the crew was responsive, but would you know the venue done screwed up in a lot of ways. After more drama with the damn headers and columns, and a marvelous catch-up with the dearest of old friends, we come in for the first set of shows to find our costume gondolas had been rifled through. My pants were stolen, and a few other items. In addition, the crew was not on time for places so we had to start five minutes late, and a luncheon with donors had been scheduled after the show and no one told us. The PRODUCTION COMPANY never heard of it, we didn't hear about it, and they cancelled it eventually and didn't tell us. In between performances on the second day, some sound guys came in and started striking the sound equipment claiming they had a go-ahead from events to use it…never mind we had yet another performance the following day in addition to the second one of this day. What the dilly yo', my peeps….. To the bitch who took my pants: I wish you nothing but the best at absolutely nothing, and I totes predict you will fail your dance final. To the events office at the LOCAL PERFORMANCE VENUE: stop wearing tight, shiny shoes…they do not make up for your lack of excellence. I'm so sad, too, because VENUE was where I first became entranced with the idea of being on a stage and therefore theatre. Kinda made me hate that I know the backstage truth. On the upside, look how fantastic it is that my life has come full circle thus far: I wanted to be on that stage when I was 8, and now in 2008, I AM on that stage…hiding behind a bed during a scene until the scene change…
We have two days off in Rockford coming up, and then off to the west with four 500 mile drive days to look forward to. I am ashamed in saying that I will be spending most of my time in Rockford in front of a video game, whether it is Final Fantasy, The Crystal Chronicles, or Mario Party…. Head up, chin out, shoulders back, and hand holding coffee.
Nothing says clean like a color cleanse! Seriously, it makes you wanna dance…like in The Wiz!
Joshua
Names of some identifiable theaters, towns and country music stars have been edited to protect Josh from identifying Google searchs. CAPITALIZED NOUNS indicate my only edits to his posts.
Fans, who wish to track Josh's ongoing travels can read his previous entries here.
On The Road With Josh #7:
Uh Oh Urbana and The End of the Midwest
Holl-errrrr!
Let's unsnap a clutch of conversation, and get this e-mail started, huh!?
Status Update: In Madison until Tuesday morning. Currently staying at a Hilton (j'adore.) And the best news – say it with me, annunciate it beautifully, let it tickle your tongue and resonate off your soft palate – I have 39 days of tour left!
Well, we have just been a'drivin' ev'rwhere. Let's do a re-cap of the last part of the Midwest, thus far my favorite part of the tour…though you would never know it from the running bitchy commentary:
Detroit Lakes, MN: Crew: One technical guy (so…a TG, if you will) wearing a mad bomber winter hat with ear flaps, lines with what I can only imagine was his latest kill; the rest of the crew included Nascar Boy (who had a penchant for rap music that can best be described as the kind which promotes shoving one's stuff in another's junk), the wife of the TG (who said that she would gladly take all the costume back to her home to launder/press/steam to which I responded by saying "no, no and nay, nay"), and a gaggle of three other friendly redneck Minnesotans. Venue: It was fine, although the sign on the marquee read "Ted dy Roose velt & the Treasure of Ur sa Ma jar." (ED NOTE: TITLE BROKEN UP TO PREVENT GOOGLING.) Majar…like it's a classic American tale with a Bollywood flare. The hotel was lovely and very comfortable.
Brookfield, WI: Crew: Only two people showed up for the 5am load-in which was followed by two shows, and a 450 mile drive to East Lansing. At the very least, our four-man/one-woman crew knows the show enough that we were able to get everything done with the venue crew's help by the time the actors arrived at 8:45am. Hotel: The hotel was great. Marriot Townplace Suites is an excellent and affordable place to stay when traveling on extended business trips. All the comforts of a studio apartment, with cookies and coffee always in the main building are the MTPS's.
East Lansing, MI: I actually met someone from the Michigan Militia at a Wal-Mart checkout lane, and cowered in awe of the stupidity and misplaced patriotism I beheld (and I think I was followed back to the hotel.) There was this woman who, after walking her dog, went into the main building at 8pm, right before myself and the TD for our show, and we watched her stuff 8 chocolate chip cookies into her pocket, and then proceeded to take one of two left on the plate to eat on her way back to her den of slack and loneliness. For real! The nerve! I mean, those were the last cookies of the day, and they had been fresh, THEY HAD BEEN FRESH, PEOPLE!... The venue was fine, with a student crew, although the lights took forever to focus because they had been hung upside down…um…oops… Shows went well, all were happy, tour moves on.
Cedar Falls, IA: We stayed at the Black hawk Historic Hotel, a bed and breakfast set on the corner of the quaintest of quaint main streets. Sadly, the only thing to do on the street at night is eat at one of the three nice restaurants, or go to any and all of the bars. There is also a store called "Fancy Fashions" which caters to the zebra-print and red lace community….ew. The cool thing about the hotel, however, was that the halls were filled with desks and chests that have all sorts of things in them…I know because I snooped. Filled with old-world charm and a sushi bar next door, it was the best time off before the craziness of April. The new corset and skirt came, FINALLY . I spent two days off working on them and they look just lovely. They came half-heartily constructed…quelle surprise… The venue was fine, huge, and the shows went well.
Champaign-Urbana, IL: Okay, and no good deed goes unpunished. Well, we had a fairly successful load-in, and the crew was responsive, but would you know the venue done screwed up in a lot of ways. After more drama with the damn headers and columns, and a marvelous catch-up with the dearest of old friends, we come in for the first set of shows to find our costume gondolas had been rifled through. My pants were stolen, and a few other items. In addition, the crew was not on time for places so we had to start five minutes late, and a luncheon with donors had been scheduled after the show and no one told us. The PRODUCTION COMPANY never heard of it, we didn't hear about it, and they cancelled it eventually and didn't tell us. In between performances on the second day, some sound guys came in and started striking the sound equipment claiming they had a go-ahead from events to use it…never mind we had yet another performance the following day in addition to the second one of this day. What the dilly yo', my peeps….. To the bitch who took my pants: I wish you nothing but the best at absolutely nothing, and I totes predict you will fail your dance final. To the events office at the LOCAL PERFORMANCE VENUE: stop wearing tight, shiny shoes…they do not make up for your lack of excellence. I'm so sad, too, because VENUE was where I first became entranced with the idea of being on a stage and therefore theatre. Kinda made me hate that I know the backstage truth. On the upside, look how fantastic it is that my life has come full circle thus far: I wanted to be on that stage when I was 8, and now in 2008, I AM on that stage…hiding behind a bed during a scene until the scene change…
We have two days off in Rockford coming up, and then off to the west with four 500 mile drive days to look forward to. I am ashamed in saying that I will be spending most of my time in Rockford in front of a video game, whether it is Final Fantasy, The Crystal Chronicles, or Mario Party…. Head up, chin out, shoulders back, and hand holding coffee.
Nothing says clean like a color cleanse! Seriously, it makes you wanna dance…like in The Wiz!
Joshua
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